# Does Canada have an AI law?

Date: 2026-10-28 · Author: Robert Scales · https://guidetoartificialintelligence.com/en/learn/does-canada-have-ai-law-2026/

**Answer:** Not yet: as of October 2026 Canada has no federal law written specifically for AI, and the two bills that would touch AI most, a new privacy law (C-36) and an online safety law (C-34), are still at second reading in the House of Commons. AI is governed today by existing laws, chiefly privacy law such as Québec's Law 25, while the June 2026 national strategy, AI for All, sets policy goals rather than rules.

If you use AI in a Canadian business, there is no single federal "AI Act" to read. As of October 2026, Parliament has not passed a law aimed specifically at artificial intelligence. That does not mean AI is unregulated. Privacy laws already apply whenever an AI tool handles personal information, consumer protection and human rights laws apply to what you do with it, and in Québec, Law 25 adds specific duties for automated decisions. What has changed in 2026 is the direction from Ottawa: a national strategy in June, followed by two bills that would put AI-related obligations into law.

This article gives a status report for ordinary readers and small businesses. It describes bills and policy, which can change at every stage, so it is educational information rather than legal advice.

## Where things stand in October 2026

| Item | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AIDA (part of Bill C-27) | Proposed federal law for "high-impact" AI systems | Died with the end of the parliamentary session on January 6, 2025 |
| AI for All | National AI strategy announced June 4, 2026 | Policy; promises legislation, investment and programs over five years |
| Bill C-36, Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act | New private-sector privacy law, including rules on automated decisions | Introduced June 15, 2026; at second reading |
| Bill C-34, Safe Social Media Act | Would create a Digital Safety Act for online services, including AI chatbots used by children | Introduced June 10, 2026; second reading debate on October 21, 2026 |
| Québec's Law 25 | Provincial privacy law with an automated-decision rule (section 12.1) | In force |

Two things stand out. First, the new federal approach is to regulate AI largely through privacy and online safety laws rather than a stand-alone AI law. Second, neither bill has reached committee, so their final wording, and when they would take effect, is open.

## What Bill C-36 would change

According to the government's announcement, the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act would replace the private-sector part of the current federal privacy law, which is more than 25 years old. For people using AI, the points to watch are:

- **Automated decisions.** Organizations would have to be open about their use of automated decision systems, including AI-powered ones, when they make significant decisions about individuals.
- **Transfers outside Canada.** Organizations would have to assess and reduce privacy risks before sending personal information abroad, something Québec businesses already know from Law 25.
- **Unfair uses.** The bill targets practices such as surveillance pricing, where personal data is used to set different prices for different people.
- **Enforcement.** A new Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission would oversee it, with administrative penalties capped at the greater of $10 million or 3% of worldwide revenue; for the most serious offenses, fines could reach $25 million or 5%. The government says the regulator would take the needs of small and medium-sized businesses into account.

## A worked example: what to do now, what to watch

A twelve-person marketing agency in Montréal uses ChatGPT and Claude for drafts, an AI tool to score sales leads, and a chatbot on its website. Here is how it might sort its to-do list as of October 2026:

| Area | Do now (law in force) | Watch (bills and strategy) |
|---|---|---|
| Client data in AI tools | Law 25: privacy impact assessment and written agreement before data leaves Québec | C-36 would add a federal assessment for data leaving Canada |
| Lead scoring | Check whether any decision about a person is fully automated (section 12.1) | C-36 transparency for significant automated decisions |
| Website chatbot | Accurate answers, consumer protection rules | C-34 duties if the service is used by children |
| Staff skills | Internal training | Federal AI literacy initiative |

A quick way to keep the "watch" column current is to check each bill's page on LEGISinfo, Parliament's bill tracker, every few months. An AI assistant can turn that page into a one-paragraph update:

```prompt
Below is the text of a LEGISinfo page for a Canadian federal bill. In five lines, tell me: the bill number and short title, the stage it has reached in the House of Commons and the Senate, the date of the latest activity, whether it has become law, and anything on the page that suggests it affects small businesses using AI. Use only what is on the page; if something is not stated, say so.
```

> **Try it:** Open the LEGISinfo page for Bill C-36 and note its current stage. Set a calendar reminder to check it again in three months, along with Bill C-34.

## What happened to AIDA, and what does the 2026 national AI strategy change for you?

The **Artificial Intelligence and Data Act** (AIDA) was part of Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, introduced in June 2022. The bill passed second reading in April 2023 and went to committee, where it was still being studied when the session of Parliament ended on January 6, 2025. Bills that have not passed by then do not carry over, so AIDA disappeared with it. The bills tabled in 2026 take a different route: they deal with AI through privacy and online safety rather than through a dedicated AI act.

**AI for All**, launched by Prime Minister Mark Carney on June 4, 2026, is a strategy, not a law. It rests on three principles, trust, opportunity and sovereignty, and sets targets: $200 billion in additional economic growth, 250,000 new AI-related jobs over five years, and a jump in AI adoption, now a little above 12%, to 60% by 2034. On trust, it promises stronger privacy protection, including against deepfakes and surveillance pricing, an online safety regime for social media and chatbot users, more AI transparency, and a larger role for the Canadian AI Safety Institute in evaluating models.

For an individual or a small business, the strategy changes little overnight. What it signals is where help and rules are heading. It announces a National AI Literacy Initiative with free entry-level training, and support for small and medium-sized businesses to adopt AI, so watch for programs you may qualify for. And it confirms that the main obligations will arrive through privacy and online safety law, which means the habits Québec businesses are building under Law 25, such as knowing where data goes and explaining automated decisions, are the right preparation for whatever Ottawa passes.

## Sources

- LEGISinfo: Bills C-27 (44-1), C-36 (45-1) and C-34 (45-1): https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/45-1/c-36
- Government of Canada tables new legislation to protect children's data, strengthen privacy and build trust in the digital economy (with backgrounder): https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2026/06/government-of-canada-tables-new-legislation-to-protect-childrens-data-strengthen-privacy-and-build-trust-in-the-digital-economy.html
- Prime Minister Carney launches AI for All: Canada's new national artificial intelligence strategy: https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/06/04/prime-minister-carney-launches-ai-all-canadas-new-national-artificial